Washington, October 06 (ANI): A new research suggests that
pedestrians walking in a heavy traffic zone can avoid the pollution by
simply moving a little away.

Professor of Environmental Modelling Alison Tomlin from Leeds'
Faculty of Engineering who led the research claims that air pollution
levels change dramatically within small geographical areas due to many
factors.

Apparently, wind patterns, the location of traffic queues and the
position and shapes of the surrounding buildings determine the level of
pollution.

Traffic flow and carbon monoxide levels were watched over an eight
week period at the intersection between Marylebone Road and Gloucester
Place in West London to come to the conclusion.

It was observed that pollution hotspots generally tend to
accumulate on the leeward side of the street, in relation to the
wind's direction at roof-top level.

The researchers also found that carbon monoxide levels were up to
four times lower in parallel side streets compared to the main road.

Tomlin said: "CO levels were highly variable over remarkably
short distances. As you'd expect, the junction itself showed high
levels caused by queuing traffic, but with some wind patterns these
hotspots moved further down the street.

"However, the leeward side of the street had consistently
higher concentrations of carbon monoxide than the windward side. The
same trends would be expected for other traffic related pollutants such
as ultrafine particles and nitrogen dioxide."

"Most people would expect pollution levels to be slightly
lower away from the main body of traffic, but our figures show a very
significant difference," the expert says.

"Pollution can be trapped within the street where it is
emitted by recirculating winds. If it escapes to above roof-top level,
it doesn't tend to be mixed back into neighbouring streets very
strongly.

" It would be worth cyclists and pedestrians rethinking their
regular routes, as they can massively reduce their pollution exposure by
moving just one street away from the main traffic thoroughfares,"
the researcher added.

Tomlin believes that authorities monitoring pollution levels in
urban areas need to look at other factors identified by the research to
ensure an accurate spatial picture.

Tomlin said: "Monitoring stations tend to be sited in what are
expected to be pollution hotspots, but our research has shown that
hotspots move depending on meteorological conditions, particularly wind
direction.

"We need to develop models which take these factors into
account, so that the data from monitoring sites can be accurately
analysed to provide a true reflection of air quality across the whole of
an urban area." (ANI)

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